With one vicious high kick from Vitor Belfort, Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division was back in a state of flux.

Heading into Saturday night’s main event of UFC on FX 7, from Ibirapuera Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the division’s immediate future was simple: if Michael Bisping beat Belfort, a title shot at Anderson Silva was his. Twice before, Bisping had lost a No. 1 contender’s bout, and each time he built himself back up. The Brit truly believed it was his moment to shine on Saturday, the long-awaited title bout finally coming to fruition.

Instead, it was another bitter disappointment. Belfort (22-10), the 35-year-old ex-light heavyweight champion and former No. 1 middleweight contender, showed he’s still in the mix at the top level, nearly 16 years after his UFC debut. Belfort sent the home-country crowd into pandemonium, knocking down Bisping with a left kick to the temple before finishing him on the mat 1:27 into the second round.

Bisping was gracious in defeat, no matter if the outcome stung as much as his temple did following Belfort’s finish.

“It was a beautiful kick. It caught me. He was a better man than me tonight,” said a visibly upset Bisping (23-5).

The consensus heading into the match was the longer it went, the more it favoured Bisping. The first round was largely both men feeling each other out, until a late flurry by Belfort left Bisping wobbly.

The second round was fought at a controlled pace as well, until the finish. As Bisping saw the left kick coming, he seemed to drop his hands slightly, expecting a body shot. Instead, Belfort connected with a shin to the temple. From there, he pounced on a fallen Bisping and landed punch after punch until the bout was stopped.

“I’ve got no excuses. I had an amazing training camp. I felt fantastic,” said Bisping.

“I felt very confident I was going to win this fight.”

Belfort, who lost to Silva in a 2011 title bout, vaulted himself into the pool of contenders in the middleweight division with Saturday’s win. But rather than push for a rematch against his countryman Silva (who knocked him out in 3:25 in the main event of UFC 126), Belfort pleaded for a rematch against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, to whom Belfort lost via fourth-round TKO in September after nearly submitting Jones in the first round. Belfort took that fight on short notice after the cancellation three weeks earlier of a bout between Jones and Dan Henderson.

It was seemingly a strange request, as Belfort hasn’t won a meaningful UFC light heavyweight bout since January 2004, when he beat Randy Couture for the title after his glove accidentally sliced Couture’s eyelid and forced a stoppage less than one minute into that bout.

“I worked so hard,” said Belfort after beating Bisping, before proceeding to trash talk both Jones and the always-outspoken Chael Sonnen, who faces Jones in April. Those two recently coached opposing teams for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, which premieres next week.

“I want to get the belt, take that punk Chael Sonnen on,” said Belfort, addressing UFC president Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta.

“Dana. Lorenzo, Kick him out. Let me fight Jon Jones. I need that rematch. Take that clown away. Go home. You did a reality show. Go home. Let me fight the real champion. Champion against a champion, not that clown.”

Belfort’s win leaves UFC officials, including matchmaker Joe Silva, with some tough decisions. While a title shot for Bisping – one of the most popular and hated fighters on UFC’s roster since debuting during Season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter – would have been one of the biggest bouts of 2013, UFC is now likely looking at either fast-rising Chris Weidman or former Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold.

“I’m healthy and ready to fight whoever (UFC) wants,” Rockhold wrote on his Twitter account immediately after the match.

Weidman was also quick to post on the social media site.

“Hmmm. Interesting,” he said on Twitter

“(I’ll) be back in summer and that’s when Anderson wanted to fight..coincidence? I think not : ) ”

Bisping, meanwhile, must climb the ladder again. He rebounded from a 2009 loss to Dan Henderson and 2012 loss to Sonnen to work his way back into title contention. He insisted Saturday that he’ll do it again.

“You win some. You lose some. I am not going away,” he said.

“Trust me. I’m going to be back. I’ll be back at the top of the pile before you (expletive) know it.”

In other main-card bouts at UFC on FX 7:

• C.B. Dollaway beat Daniel Sarafian via split decision in a middleweight bout. All three judges scored the match 29-28, with two siding with Dollaway.

• Gabriel Gonzaga submitted Ben Rothwell with a guillotine choke at 2:01 of the second round in a heavyweight contest.

• Khabib Nurmagomedov knocked out Thiago Tavares at 1:55 of the first round in a lightweight match.

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